The Coming Showdown

(12/8/2012) Prosecutors are apparently waiting for an opportune moment to apprehend Spiritual leader Anand Krishna and bring him to Jakarta to begin serving a 2.5-year sentence.

Radar Bali reports that State Prosecutors are in the process of preparing a third formal summons that, if unsuccessful, will lead to the forceful arrest of the pluralistic spiritual leader.

The chief prosecutor in Gianyar, Bali, Anita Asterida, told Radar Bali that her office was prepared to execute orders from Jakarta to arrest Anand Krishna who has taken refuge in his spiritual retreat - Pesraman Anand Ashram in Ubud. She said prosecutors were equally prepared to deal with any supporters of Krishna, who has vowed to resist until death efforts to take him into custody.

After being declared innocent by the Indonesian courts in a prolonged trial plagued by legal missteps and numerous anomalies, the Indonesian Supreme Court reopened the case and leveled the 2.5-year sentence. The sentence is widely criticized by legal experts who see the Supreme Courts decision as lacking judicial independence, a crude effort to silence a major force for religious tolerance and a pluralistic society, and specifically prohibited under Indonesian law that does not allow a defendant deemed innocent to have that decision overruled by a higher court.

The Gianyar prosecutor called on Anand Krishna’s supporter to be cooperative with her officer when they come to arrest their spiritual leader and avoid any actions that could be seen as anarchistic.